For years I wanted a flower garden．But then we had Matthew．And Marvin．And the twins, Alisa and Alan．And then Helen．Five children．I was too busy raising them to grow a garden．

Money was tight, as well as time．Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I' d have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you now．”

Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own．

One spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen．Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns as they drove by．I looked out the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard．I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches．Then I put my glasses on－and I couldn't believe what I saw．

There was a money tree in my yard!

I went outside to look．It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree．Think of' all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars! There was also a note attached: ‘‘IOU eight hours of digging time．Love, Marvin．"

Marvin kept his promise, too．He dug up a nice ten－by－fifteen foot bed for me And my other children bought me tools, ornaments , a trellis（格架）, a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books．

That was three years ago．My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted．When I go out and tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did．I feel like they're right there with me．

I'm still not sure that money grows on trees．But I know love does!

1.Why did the mother say "Money doesn't grow on trees"?       .

A．She wanted them not to spend extra money

B．She was too sad to say anything else

C．She told them a truth on money

D．she just played a joke with them

2.What do we know about the mother according to the text?       ．

A．She is a bad-tempered woman

B．She believes money can grow on a tree now

C．She is a writer

D．She is hard-working in housekeeping

3.What can be inferred from the text?      ．

A．The author raised five children

B．The money tree was a Mother Day's gift

C．It cost Marvin eight hours to dug up the bed

D．Children planted a weeping willow in the yard

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?  ___    ．

A．My Money Tree                        B．The Garden of My Children

C．Mother's Love                          D．Marvin's Promise

Amy returned to her small apartment at midnight, tired. Her worst fears raced through her mind. Would the court tell her she couldn’t care for her family anymore? Would the kids go through the sadness once more of being split up and sent away? She was so young, almost a child herself, and yet Amy knew everything depended on her. At that moment, she wondered if she would ever find the strength to see it through.
From earliest childhood, Amy took care of her younger brothers. Jan, their mother, only added to the family disorder and confusion because of her drug addict. Sometimes they lived in apartments, sometimes in shelters.
One afternoon Amy was called to the high school, where a social worker was waiting for her. “We’re going to have to put you guys in foster（收养) care.” the social worker said. “No! Don’t spilt us up!” the girl cried out. “Can’t you just leave it the way it is?” The social worker shook his head. Amy’s voice then rose like the howl of a lion protecting her babies: “Why can’t I take them? I take care of them all the time anyway.” The social worker hesitated, and then said, “Maybe. Once you’re 18, you could apply to become their relative caretaker. Then you’d be their foster mother until we find a home where all of you can be together.” “I’ll do it,” Amy said.
One month later, Amy was named guardian of her brothers for a six-month trial period. It was a remarkable victory for an 18-year-old girl. Her brothers didn’t make her task any easier in the months ahead. However，Amy’s efforts were rewarded when the court allowed her to continue as guardian. Amy’s relief at remaining the kids’ guardian was at risk of being taken away by the pressure she always
felt to measure up. Social workers still looked regularly over her shoulder and asked the boys shameful
questions: “Does she feed you? Does she ever try to harm you?” Then one day a visiting social worker
came over. “We’d like to get the boys adopted into homes,” she said. Sensing that the family was about to be split apart yet again, Amy replied, “Fine, then. Call it adoption if you want, but they’re not going anywhere.” To her surprise, the social worker took her remark seriously. She explained that if Amy were to adopt the boys, they would become like any other family.
That night at dinner Amy told the boys about the idea. “Cool!” Joey said. He threw a piece of corn at Adam. His brother flicked it back, and pretty soon corn was flying. Amy rolled her eyes. They didn’t have far to go to be like any other family. As the proceedings（程序）ended, Amy thanked everyone. “No,” the judge responded, “Thank you. You saved three kids. Not many family members would do what you’re doing, especially for this many children. I’m very proud of you.” 
On a lazy spring day, in a modest suburban neighborhood, Amy stood in front of a neatly kept one-story house. She watched her brothers playing basketball, and heard the playful bark of their dog, Tahoe. The young lady had made good on her promise: they had rented a home, a real home, and the boys had gotten their dog. Amy continues to raise her family alone, but has begun taking courses in business management at a nearby community college. Eventually, she hopes to become a child psychologist.
【小题1】 Which of the following best describes Amy?

Amy returned to her small apartment at midnight, exhausted. Pushing the key into the lock, she quietly opened the door so as not to wake her younger brothers. She stepped into the front room and froze. The apartment was a mess: plates of half-eaten food were scattered in front of the TV; toys littered the floor; clothes, shoes and homework were strewn everywhere. Amy’s eyes welled with tears. This is just way too much for me, she thought. Her worst fears began to race through her mind. Would the court（法院）tell her she couldn’t care for her family anymore? Would the kids go through the bitterness once more of being split up and sent away? She was so young, almost a child herself, and yet Amy knew everything depended on her. At that moment, she wondered if she would ever find the strength to see it through
Amy had been born dead. Doctors fought and saved this smaller twin of a drug-taking mother, and she’d had to fight for everything in life ever since. From earliest childhood, Amy took care of her younger brothers. Jan, their mother, only added to the family disorder and confusion. Sometimes they lived in apartments, sometimes in shelters.
One afternoon Amy was called to the high school, where a social worker was waiting for her. “We know your mother has been staying with you,” the social worker said. “We’re going to have to put you guys in foster （收养)）care.” “No! Don’t split us up!” the girl cried out. “Can’t you just leave it the way it is?” The social worker shook his head. Amy’s voice then rose like the howl of a lioness protecting her babies: “Why can’t I take them? I take care of them all the time anyway.” The social worker hesitated, and then said, “Maybe. Once you’re 18, you could apply to become their relative caretaker. Then you’d be their foster mother until we find a home where all of you can be together.” “I’ll do it,” Amy said.
One month later, Amy was named guardian（监护人）of her brothers for a six-month trial period. It was a remarkable victory for an 18-year-old girl. Her brothers didn’t make her task any easier in the months ahead. However，Amy’s efforts were rewarded when the court allowed her to continue as guardian. Amy’s relief at remaining the kids’ guardian was at risk of being taken away by the pressure she always felt to measure up. Social workers still looked regularly over her shoulder and asked the boys shameful questions: “Does she feed you? Does she ever try to harm you?” Then one day a visiting social worker came over. “We’d like to get the boys out of foster care and adopted into homes,” she said. Sensing that the family was about to be split apart yet again, Amy replied, “Fine, then. Call it adoption if you want, but they’re not going anywhere.” To her surprise, the social worker took her remark seriously. She explained that if Amy were to adopt the boys, they would become like any other family.
That night at dinner Amy told the boys about the idea. “Cool!” Joey said. He threw a piece of corn at Adam. His brother flicked it back, and pretty soon corn was flying. Amy rolled her eyes. They didn’t have far to go to be like any other family. As the proceedings（程序）ended, Amy thanked everyone. “No,” the judge responded, “thank you. You saved three kids. Not many family members would do what you’re doing, especially for this many children. I’m very proud of you.” 
On a lazy spring day, in a modest suburban neighborhood, Amy stood in front of a neatly kept one-story house. She watched her brothers playing basketball, and heard the playful bark of their dog, Tahoe. The young lady had made good on her promise: they had rented a home, a real home, and the boys had gotten their dog. Amy continues to raise her family alone, but has begun taking courses in business management at a nearby community college. Eventually, she hopes to become a child psychologist.
【小题1】Which of the following best describes Amy?

Amy returned to her small apartment at midnight, exhausted. Pushing the key into the lock, she quietly opened the door so as not to wake her younger brothers. She stepped into the front room and froze. The apartment was a mess: plates of half-eaten food were scattered in front of the TV; toys littered the floor; clothes, shoes and homework were strewn everywhere. Amy’s eyes welled with tears. This is just way too much for me, she thought. Her worst fears began to race through her mind. Would the court（法院）tell her she couldn’t care for her family anymore? Would the kids go through the bitterness once more of being split up and sent away? She was so young, almost a child herself, and yet Amy knew everything depended on her. At that moment, she wondered if she would ever find the strength to see it through
Amy had been born dead. Doctors fought and saved this smaller twin of a drug-taking mother, and she’d had to fight for everything in life ever since. From earliest childhood, Amy took care of her younger brothers. Jan, their mother, only added to the family disorder and confusion. Sometimes they lived in apartments, sometimes in shelters.
One afternoon Amy was called to the high school, where a social worker was waiting for her. “We know your mother has been staying with you,” the social worker said. “We’re going to have to put you guys in foster （收养)）care.” “No! Don’t split us up!” the girl cried out. “Can’t you just leave it the way it is?” The social worker shook his head. Amy’s voice then rose like the howl of a lioness protecting her babies: “Why can’t I take them? I take care of them all the time anyway.” The social worker hesitated, and then said, “Maybe. Once you’re 18, you could apply to become their relative caretaker. Then you’d be their foster mother until we find a home where all of you can be together.” “I’ll do it,” Amy said.
One month later, Amy was named guardian（监护人）of her brothers for a six-month trial period. It was a remarkable victory for an 18-year-old girl. Her brothers didn’t make her task any easier in the months ahead. However，Amy’s efforts were rewarded when the court allowed her to continue as guardian. Amy’s relief at remaining the kids’ guardian was at risk of being taken away by the pressure she always felt to measure up. Social workers still looked regularly over her shoulder and asked the boys shameful questions: “Does she feed you? Does she ever try to harm you?” Then one day a visiting social worker came over. “We’d like to get the boys out of foster care and adopted into homes,” she said. Sensing that the family was about to be split apart yet again, Amy replied, “Fine, then. Call it adoption if you want, but they’re not going anywhere.” To her surprise, the social worker took her remark seriously. She explained that if Amy were to adopt the boys, they would become like any other family.
That night at dinner Amy told the boys about the idea. “Cool!” Joey said. He threw a piece of corn at Adam. His brother flicked it back, and pretty soon corn was flying. Amy rolled her eyes. They didn’t have far to go to be like any other family. As the proceedings（程序）ended, Amy thanked everyone. “No,” the judge responded, “thank you. You saved three kids. Not many family members would do what you’re doing, especially for this many children. I’m very proud of you.” 
On a lazy spring day, in a modest suburban neighborhood, Amy stood in front of a neatly kept one-story house. She watched her brothers playing basketball, and heard the playful bark of their dog, Tahoe. The young lady had made good on her promise: they had rented a home, a real home, and the boys had gotten their dog. Amy continues to raise her family alone, but has begun taking courses in business management at a nearby community college. Eventually, she hopes to become a child psychologist

1. 1.

   Which of the following best describes Amy?

   1. A.
      Crazy and tough
   2. B.
      Firm and stubborn
   3. C.
      Enthusiastic and generous
   4. D.
      Abnormal and aggressive
2. 2.

   What was bothering Amy most in the passage?

   1. A.
      The mess in her apartment
   2. B.
      Her family being split up again
   3. C.
      Working hard to support the family
   4. D.
      Her young age to take care of her brothers
3. 3.

   From the Paragraph 3, we can learn that ______.

   1. A.
      The social worker gave in to Amy
   2. B.
      The social worker tried to adopt Amy’s brothers
   3. C.
      Amy tried to apply for the guardian of the brothers
   4. D.
      Amy had no idea how to face her family being split up
4. 4.

   By saying “They didn’t have far to go to be like any other family”, the writer means_______.

   1. A.
      they will live in the same area as other families
   2. B.
      they made a deep impression on the neighborhood
   3. C.
      Amy is able to take good care of the family
   4. D.
      Amy and her brothers would be already just like a family
5. 5.

   The best title for this text would be______.

   1. A.
      Standing On Two Feet
   2. B.
      Growing Up Alone
   3. C.
      A Lifelong Fight
   4. D.
      A Teen Hero

Sports shoes that work out whether their owner has done enough exercise to promise time in front of the television have been devised in the UK.

The shoes- named Square Eyes- contain an electronic pressure sensor and a tiny computer chip to record how many steps the wearer has taken in a day. A wireless transmitter (发射器) passes the information to a receiver connected to a television, and this decides how much evening viewing time the wearer deserves(应得), based on the day's efforts.

The design was inspired by a desire to fight against the rapidly ballooning waistlines among British teenagers, says Gillian Swan, who developed Square Eyes as a final year design project at Brunel University in London, UK. "We looked at current issues and childhood overweight really stood out," she says. "And I wanted to tackle that with my design."

Once a child has used up their daily allowance gained through exercise, the television automatically (自动地) switches off. And further time in front of the TV can only be earned through more steps. Swan calculated how exercise should translate to television time using the recommended daily amounts of both. Health experts suggest that a child take 12,000 steps each day and watch no more than two hours of television. So, every 100 steps recorded by the Square Eyes shoes equals exactly one minute of TV time.

Existing pedometers(计步器) normally clip onto a belt or slip into a pocket and keep count of steps by measuring sudden movement. Swan says these can be easily tricked into recording steps through shaking. But her shoe has been built to be harder for lazy teenagers to cheat. "It is possible, but it would be a lot of effort," she says. "That was one of my main design considerations."

1.According to Swan, the purpose of her design project is to _____.

A．keep a record of the steps of the wearer.

B．deal with overweight among teenagers.

C．enable children to resist (抵制) the attraction of TV.

D．prevent children from being tricked by TV programs.

2.Which of the following is true of Square Eyes shoes?

A．They control a child's evening TV viewing time.

B．They determine a child's daily pocket money.

C．They have raised the hot issue of overweight.

D．They contain information of the receiver.

3.Compared with other similar products, the new design ___.

A．sends teenagers' health data(数据) to the receiver.

B．counts the wearer's steps through shaking.

C．records the sudden movement of the wearer.

D．make it difficult for lazy teenagers to cheat

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A．Smart Shoes Stop Childhood Overweight

B．Smart Shoes Guarantee More Exercise

C．Smart Shoes Measure Time of Exercise

D．Smart Shoes Decide on Television Time